Monday, 2 July 2018

President Emmerson Mnangagwa says a total of $850 million
has been repatriated back in Zimbabwe through the measures put in place by the
new political dispensation to fight corruption.

With only seven months since the advent of the new
political dispensation in Zimbabwe, President Mnangagwa has already
demonstrated his commitment in fighting corruption through various strategies
which began when he declared a three month moratorium to those involved in
illicit financial transfers that have prejudiced the country of billions of
United States dollars.

After the moratorium deadline expired another month was
given to allow those who had faced challenges to comply, after which a name and
shame list of companies and individuals who had not complied was published in
the media.

Steps are now being taken to bring to book through the
courts those who have failed to account for their illicit external financial
transfers.

In his contribution to the 31st African Union (AU) Summit
theme entitled, “Winning the Fight against Corruption-A Sustainable Path to
Africa’s Transformation” in Mauritania, President Mnangagwa said from Day 1 of
the new dispensation in Zimbabwe, government prioritised the fight against
corruption and established special anti-corruption courts and made it mandatory
for ministers to declare their assets as well as establishing a new
Anticorruption Prosecution Unit within his office and the enactment of the
Public Entities Corporate Governance Act.

Besides the new initiatives by the new dispensation,
Zimbabwe adopted the convention on preventing and combating corruption which
has been ratified by 40 countries.

Zimbabwe has also signed and domesticated SADC, AU and UN
legal instruments meant to fight the scourge of corruption and it honours the
reporting obligations including to the AU board on corruption.

President Mnangagwa said the country also has an
anti-corruption commission which serves as a whistle blower highlighting and
exposing cases of corruption, adding that corruption networks are becoming more
and more complicated, hence the need to enhance information sharing amongst
member states and their law enforcement agencies and related institutions on
the continent and beyond.

He called on governments, the private sector and civil
society to play their part in the fight against corruption saying that is a
battle that African governments must win.

He paid tribute to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari for
championing the AU theme – “Winning the Fight against Corruption-A Sustainable
Path to Africa’s Transformation”.

While most of the African countries spoke of the various
constitutional bodies that they have put in place to fight corruption, it
appears the cancer is on the increase with the illicit flows amounting to US$50
billion annually.

The speakers were the Presidents of Algeria, Mozambique,
Morocco, Burkina Faso, Egypt, and Botswana among others. zbc